PR firm Hume Brophy opens Frankfurt office in wake of Brexit

Irish public relations firm Hume Brophy has opened an office in Frankfurt and lined up an acquisition in Berlin on foot of the UK's decision to leave the EU.

The company, which specialises in financial services, said Brexit had accelerated a gradual shift in business from the UK to Germany which necessitated having a presence there.

Chief executive Conall McDevitt said the firm had received a string of inquiries from UK and other clients wishing to increase their profile in Germany in the wake of the UK’s referendum.

He also noted that the level of uncertainty surrounding Britain’s future position had ratcheted up in recent weeks amid mixed messages from Downing Street.

"There is no doubt the economic and political map of Europe is changing," Mr McDevitt told The Irish Times.

“As an international consultancy, we want to be able to offer clients representation in all the major economic and political centres and that requires us now to go to Germany,” he said.

With seven offices in Europe, Asia and the US, employing 110 staff, Hume Brophy is the largest Irish-owned communications consultancy.

Set up shop

Its decision to set up shop in Frankfurt comes as banks and other financial firms consider shifting European operations from London to the German banking hub amid the new Brexit paradigm.

The PR firm, which has been on a major expansion drive, is also planning to establish a public affairs and government relations base in Berlin.

“We fully expect to complete an acquisition in Berlin in the next quarter,” Mr McDevitt said, noting the firm was in discussions with several interested parties.

Despite being outside the euro zone, London is the world’s principal location for euro-denominated trading, boasting a $2 trillion-a-day market.

Brexit has, however, cast doubts over whether the city can retain its status as Europe’s chief clearing house.

Mr McDevitt said London was likely to remain an important financial centre regardless of the where the Brexit negotiations led.

"In a post-Brexit UK where London has more freedom and is outside of the European regulatory infrastructure that would be potentially attractive to a lot of investment houses," he said, noting there was still strong interest from China.

However, an unfavourable outcome to the Brexit negotiations will almost certainly lead to a migration of business from London to elsewhere in Europe, he said.

Mr McDevitt suggested Dublin was more likely to attract funds industry business as the city already had a strong reputation in this area, while Frankfurt was primed to pick up the bigger institutional players.